All-in-one ideas are fine for devices that go everywhere with you (enter the iPhone). In a video kit, however, all in one and one for all won’t cut it. A camera isn’t really yours until you trick it out with specialized gear that will take it into a variety of shoots and conditions.
When choosing extras, the fundamental things apply- price, weight, ease of use. Some accessories have morphed into weightless downloads and presets, but not all. As Will Holloway points out in this issue, accessories are crucial for today’s lighter cameras, where a little bit of weight and counterbalancing can be a very good thing.
Take batteries (and until someone creates a wireless power source, we all still have to). They haven’t changed much in the past 10 years, but more recently, new sizes and weights have emerged as more companies are retrofitting them to work better with tripods, smaller cameras and digital workflows. Smart companies understand that a battery isn’t just an after thought.
Traveling to trade shows and other industry events, I’ve watched a lot of weary shooters haul their gear. Their bags come in all shapes and sizes, too. A few months ago, on my way to NAB, I ran into Jesse Rosen, director of technical development at Abel CineTech, an equipment rental company and dealer here in New York. We’d been on the same plane and ran into each other down in the baggage claim area in Las Vegas. Jesse’s also an editor, DP and director, and often goes on location with Abel CineTech customers in and around New York. Most recently, he joined producer Lindha Narvaez and director Danny Clinch on an extended shoot at the Bonnaroo indie rock festival in Tennessee. As we stood there waiting for our luggage in Vegas, I asked him about the Phantom HD, Vision Research’s amazing new super high-speed camera that can record 1,000 frames per second at 1920 x 1080 HD resolution, and about some of the recent commercial shoots it’s been used on. You can rent one from Abel CineTech for about $2,000 per day. If you want to buy it, you need very deep pockets.
"Want to see it?" he asked.
"Well, yea," I said, looking dubiously at the suitcases and hard cases tumbling out of the shoot onto the carousel. "You didn’t check it, did you?"
Jesse just grinned and pulled the Phantom HD out of a nondescript gym bag that he’d stowed under the seat in front of him on the plane. "You think I’d let this thing out of my sight?" he said.
In Jesse’s case, this kit is just a kit. But the camera, well, that’s another story.
– Beth Marchant, Editor -in-Chief
bmarchant@accessintel.com